Gems Pearls of Wisdom of the Salaf

We believed, they rejected [How the Salaf came to Islam]
‘Āṣim b. ʿUmar b. Qatādah [Al-Anṣārī] reports from some men amongst his people, “One of the things that called us to accept Islam – with the mercy of Allāh and His guidance – is what we used to hear from some Jewish men. We were polytheists who worshipped idols. They (the Jews) were people of scripture and had knowledge that we did not possess. There was always some badness between us; if we did to them something they hated, they would say to us, ‘The time is nigh when a Prophet will be sent, with whom we will fight and kill you like ‘Ād and Iram.’ We would often hear this from them. When Allāh sent His Messenger- Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – we answered him when he called us to Allāh the Exalted, and we recognized what they used to warn us about. So we preceded them to him; we believed in him and they disbelieved. And it is about us and them that these verses of Al-Baqarah were revealed:
And when there came to them (the Jews), a Book (this Qur’ān) from Allāh confirming what is with them (Torah) and the Gospel, although aforetime they had invoked Allāh (for coming of the Prophet), in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved. Then when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it. So let the curse of Allāh be on the disbelievers.” [Al-Baqarah: 89]
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Ibn Hishām, Al-Sīrah Vol.1 p211, and others. Shaykh Muqbil Al-Wādi’ī graded this narrations chain of transmission ḥasan. See Al-Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Musnad min Dalā`il Al-Nubūwah p93.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/we-believed-they-rejected-how-the-salaf-came-to-islam/
 
Where did we get our Glory?
Ibn Shihāb reports:
ʿUmar went out to Shām (Greater Syria) and Abū ‘Ubaydah b. Al-Jarrāḥ was with us. They came to a ford while ʿUmar was on his camel. He dismounted his camel, took off his leather socks, placed them on his shoulder and took the reins of his camel and began to go down the ford. Abū ‘Ubaydah said, “O Leader of the Believers! You are doing this?! You take off your leather socks, put them on your shoulder, take your camel’s reins and go down the ford?! I wouldn’t want the people of this land to see you in such a state!” ʿUmar said, “If only someone else had said this o Abū ‘Ubaydah. You have made a lesson for the Ummah of Muḥammad – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him! We were the lowliest of people but Allah gave us might and glory through Islam. If we seek glory through other than what Allah gave us glory through, He will abase us (again).”
In another version Abū ‘Ubaydah said:
O Leader of the Believers, should the armed forces and elite of Shām meet you in this condition? ʿUmar replied, “We are a people whom Allah gave might and glory to through Islam, so we will never seek glory through anything else.”
Reported by Al-Ḥākim, Al-Mustadrak Vol.1 pp61, 62. He declared it to be Sahih according to the criteria of Al-Bukhaārī and Muslim. Al-Dhahabī and Al-Albānī concur. See Al-Albānī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥah Vol.1 p50.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/where-did-we-get-our-glory/
 
This world (the dunyā) is [only taken as] a home by those who will have no real home [in Jannah], and it is the wealth of those who will have no real wealth, and it is gathered and collected for by those who have no real intelligence.

(Ibn Mas'ud; reported by Ibn Abi Dunya in Dhamm al Dunya')
 
Dua from the Bottom of the Heart [Ikhlas]

ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān b. Yazīd reports:

Al-Rabīʿ b. Khuthaym used to come to ʿAlqamah on the day of Jumuʿah and they would talk. They would call for me and I would come and talk with them. One day, they sent for me and I came. ʿAlqamah said to me, Have you not heard what Al-Rabīʿ b. Khuthaym has come to us with? I replied, And what is that? He said, [Rabīʿ] said a man from the People of Scripture once said to us, Do you not see how much people supplicate but how seldom their prayers are answered? That is because Allāh does not accept except what is sincere and purely for Him. I said, Well ʿAbdullāh [b. Masʿūd] already said the same. He asked, What did he say? I replied, Haven’t you heard him say, By Him other than whom there is none worthy of worship, Allāh does not accept [the deed] of one who seeks to be heard of, or seen, and nor someone who is playing around, [He only accepts the supplication] of one who calls upon Him from the bottom of his heart. He replied, Indeed, [I have heard him say that].

Hunād b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd #874.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/dua-bottom-heart-ikhlas/
 
The Companion that Stays

It is reported that Al-Nuʿmān b. Bashīr – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

The example of the son of Adam and death is that of a man who has three friends. He says to one of them: “What do you have?” [The first friend] replies, “I have your wealth, take from it what you wish, and whatever you do not take, you will no longer possess.” Then he asks the second, “What do you have?” He replies, “I will look after you, and when you die, I will bury you and then leave you.” The man then asks the third, “What do you have?” He replies, “I will be with you wherever you go.” [Al-Nuʿmān] said, “As for the first one, it is the wealth of a person: whatever he uses is his, and whatever he does not use is not. As for the second, it is a man’s family and kin: when he dies they take care of him, then they leave him. As for the third, it is a man’s actions: wherever he goes (before and after death), they go with him.”

Ibn Abī Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf ḥadīth 34723
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/the-companion-that-stays/
 
Son, have you put it into practice?
‘Aṭā’ narrates that there used to be a young man who used to go to Mother of the Believers ‘Ā’ishah to ask her questions and she would narrate to him. One day, he came to her to ask her some questions. She said, “Son, have you put into practice what you hear from me yet?” He replied, “No mother, I have not.” So she said, “Son, why do you then seek to increase Allah’s proof against us and you?!”
Al-Khatīb Al-Baghdādī in Iqtidā’ Al-‘Ilm Al-‘Amal no. 92.

https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/son-have-you-put-it-into-practice/
 
Arguing with a Scholar or an Ignoramus

Yūnus reports: Maymūn b. Mihrān once wrote to me saying:

Beware of dispute and argumentation about the religion, and do not argue with a scholar nor an ignoramus. As for the scholar, he will withhold his knowledge from you, and will not be concerned with what you do. As for the ignorant person, he will only cause roughness in your heart and he will not obey you [anyway].

Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan no. 302.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/arguing-with-a-scholar-or-an-ignoramus/
 
Be patient at all times and in all places....for patience leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise.

""Do not become angry and furious....for those two emotions lead to wickedness, and wickedness leads to the Hellfire."

-- Sufyan al-Thawri --
 
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/graffiti-of-the-salaf/
The link has some pictures of graffiti what is considered (to date) the oldest dated Islamic inscription, from 24H, when the Rightly Guided Caliph ‘Umar b. Al-Khattāb – Allāh be pleased with him – was assassinated. It is located at Al-‘Ulā in present day Saudi Arabia. It is one of a number of ‘graffiti’ inscriptions made by travelers and pilgrims from the first few centuries of Islām. Please see the link for more details:
 
The Opportunity of Fasting Ashura
It is reported that Imām Al-Zuhrī – Allāh have mercy on him – was traveling and fasted ʿĀshūrāʾ, so he was asked:
“How comes you fast the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ when traveling but not so during the fast of Ramaḍān?” He replied, “For Ramaḍān, the number of days can be made up later, but ʿĀshūrāʾ will be missed.”
Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān ḥadīth 3518.

https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/opportunity-fasting-ashura/
 
Three Men and Three Women

It is reported that ʿUmar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

There are three types of men and three types of women.
As for the women:

  1. Then [one] is the chaste, Muslim, gentle, loving and childbearing woman. She helps her family in difficult situations and does not help situations to overcome her family. Rarely will you find such women.
  2. Another is a vessel, she does nothing more than bear children.
  3. The third type is a shackle, Allāh puts her around the neck of whomever he wills, and when he wills to remove it, he removes it.
Men are [also] three kinds.
  1. [The first is] a chaste, easy, gentle man who possesses opinion (insight) and is worthy of being consulted; and when a matter befalls him, he follows his insight, and approaches matters as they should be.
  2. [The second is] a man who has no opinions of his own, and when a matter befalls him he goes to the one who does have insight and should be consulted, and he adopts his opinion on the matter.
  3. The third is a man who is confused, lost and aimless; he neither follows (seeks) guidance, nor obeys any guide.

Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān 10:39 ḥadīth 7131.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/three-men-and-three-women/
 
Ibn Abī Mulaykah – Allah have mercy on him – said:

I met thirty of the Prophet’s Companions – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and every one of them feared falling into nifāq (hypocrisy); not one of them claimed he had the level of faith of Jibrīl or Mīkā`īl.

Quoted by Al-Bukhārī, Al-Sahīh, Chapter on the believer fearing that his deeds will be nullified without him realizing.
 
The Weight of the Quran

It is reported that Ibn ʿUmar – Allāh be pleased with him – said, “We were the beginning [the heads] of this Ummah, and perhaps a man from the best of the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – and the most righteous amongst them could maintain only one chapter of the Qur`ān or thereabouts. For the Qur`ān was weighty upon them, and they were given knowledge of it or action based on it. But the last of this Ummah will find the Qur`ān light [and easy] – the child and the non-Arab will recite it, without possessing any knowledge about it.”

Al-Harawī, Dhamm Al-Kalām wa Ahlihī Vol. 5 p144.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/the-weight-of-the-quran/
 
Helping to destroy Islam

It is reported that Al-Fuḍayl b. ʿAyyāḍ – Allāh have mercy on him – said, “Whoever helps an adherent of bid’ah (heretic) has helped in the destruction of Islam.”

Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyatu Al-Awliyā` Vol. 1 p398.

It is reported that Abū Isḥāq Al-Hamdānī and Ibrāhīm b. Maysarah said, “Whoever respects an adherent of bid’ah has helped in the destruction of Islam.”

Reported from Al-Hamdānī by Al-Ājurrī, Al-Sharī’ah Vol. 5 p260; and from Ibn Maysarah by Al-Lālakā`ī, Sharḥ Usūl I’tiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah Vol. 1 p265.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/helping-to-destroy-islam/
 
'Abdullah said:
Helping to destroy Islam

It is reported that Al-Fuḍayl b. ʿAyyāḍ – Allāh have mercy on him – said, “Whoever helps an adherent of bid’ah (heretic) has helped in the destruction of Islam.”

Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyatu Al-Awliyā` Vol. 1 p398.

It is reported that Abū Isḥāq Al-Hamdānī and Ibrāhīm b. Maysarah said, “Whoever respects an adherent of bid’ah has helped in the destruction of Islam.”

Reported from Al-Hamdānī by Al-Ājurrī, Al-Sharī’ah Vol. 5 p260; and from Ibn Maysarah by Al-Lālakā`ī, Sharḥ Usūl I’tiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah Vol. 1 p265.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/helping-to-destroy-islam/
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What does it mean in destruction of Islam?
 
[h=2]Children of the Hereafter[/h]It is reported from ‘Alī b. Abī Tālib –Allah be pleased with him – that he said:
The thing I fear for you most is following desires and having extensive hopes (about this worldly life). Following one’s desires blocks you from the truth, and having extensive hopes makes you forget the hereafter. Verily, this worldly life is departing and the hereafter is approaching and each of them has its children. So be children of the hereafter, not children of this world, for today there are (opportunities to do) deeds and there is no reckoning, but tomorrow there will be reckoning and no deeds.
Quoted by Al-Bukhārī, Al-Sahīh, The Book of Raqā`iq without the first sentence. Reported in its entirety by Abū Nu’aym, Hilyah Al-Awliyā` Vol.1 p40, and others.
 
The Value of Most People’s Judgements

It is reported that Mālik b. Dīnār – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Since I have come to know people, I do not rejoice when they praise and I do not dislike it when they blame, for those that praise go to excess in praise and those that blame go to excess in blaming. When the scholar learns knowledge in order to act, it humbles him; but if he learns it for something other than action, it only makes him more boastful.
Al-Dhahbī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 5:362.

https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/value-of-most-peoples-judgements/
 
The Foolish Gathering
It is reported that Muʿāwiyah b. Qurrah – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Do not sit with the foolish using your knowledge, and do not sit with the knowledgeable (scholars) using your foolishness.
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 5:154.

https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/the-foolish-gathering/

[TABLE="class: grid, width: 100%, align: center"]
[TR][TD]The Foolish Gathering - Sayings of the Salaf
Knowledge does not benefit with the foolish and foolishness does not benefit one with the scholars....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
The scholar, the ruler, and your brother
It is reported that ‘Abdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
It is right that an intelligent person does not undervalue three [types of people]: the scholars, the rulers, and [his Muslim] brothers. Whoever undervalues the scholars will lose his afterlife, whoever undervalues the rulers will lose his worldly life, and whoever undervalues his brothers loses his good character and conduct.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`17:251.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/the-scholar-the-ruler-and-your-brother/
 
[h=2]Four Corruptions[/h]It is reported that Muʿādh b. Jabal – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
“O people, there are four characteristics to come, whoever can avoid reaching them should do so.” [People] asked, “And what are they?” He replied, “There will come a time in which falsehood will rise, and a time will come in which a man will say, ‘By Allāh, I do not know what I am’, he will neither live nor die upon insight (knowledge of what he should be). And a time will come in which a man will start his day on one religion and end it on another. And a time will come when a man will be given wealth from the wealth Allāh provides, in return for saying what is wrong and false and for which Allāh will be angry with him.”
​
Ibn ʿAsākir, Tārīkh Dimishq 58:442
 

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